


it's beginning to look a lot like christmas (ev'rywhere you go)

by fancyfanstuff



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: (Except for in the AUs), (Obviously), (cause 'tis the damn season), (it's all very fluffy tho), (this is a mix so there's a little of everything in there), (we deserve some fluff), Christmas, Collection of mini fics, F/F, Fluff, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 17,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28055301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fancyfanstuff/pseuds/fancyfanstuff
Summary: A collection of fluffy Christmas-inspired one shots.(Based on the 12 Days of Supercorp prompts by @supercorpbb on tumblr)
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 202
Kudos: 231





	1. let it snow (i'll keep you warm tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> Yoooo peeps,   
> since I have nothing better to do (or I have, but I'm procrastinating like a pro and anyway, it's not "better" cause what could be better than fluffy supercorp fic? huh??) and felt like taking on a challenge, I decided to just... write fic for the entire 12 Days of Supercorp prompt list. Consider it a Christmas gift :)  
> Anyway, so far I'm ahead of schedule and will be posting daily, but we'll see if I can keep that going until Christmas. I'll be doing my best in any case!   
> Also, this is a colourful mix of one shots of all calibres. Like, they will all be fluff, but POVs will vary, topics will, dating situation will sooo... I hope you can all find something in here that speaks to you, specifically.   
> And now I will stop talking and let you (hopefully) enjoy the first fic:

“You want to do what?”

Alex’s voice sounded about as doubtful as if Lena had told her that she planned to conjure a full-grown hurricane instead of a few harmless clouds. Director Henshaw limited himself to an incredulous look. Unreasonably incredulous, insultingly incredulous even, if Lena weren’t used to people underestimating her.

“It’s not that complicated, actually,” she said, in lieu of rolling her eyes. “I simply have to trigger nucleation manually, which, given the current temperatures, shouldn’t be a problem if enough INA bacteria is distributed in the troposphere – ”

“Yes, yes, I understand the nephology part,” Alex interrupted. There was an irritated twitch to her lips, as if Lena’s explanation had offended her in return.

Lena smoothed down her skirt, suppressing a smirk. “Then what is the problem, Agent Danvers? Naturally, I will only use harmless bacteria, saprophytes in fact. The quantity has been carefully calculated. You are welcome to read the measurement protocol, if you want.” She gestured at the files before her. “The risk is minimal, or else I wouldn’t be contemplating this. The DEO has nothing to worry about.”

“Okay. Let’s say we believe you.” Director Henshaw thumbed through a report, eyes scanning the pages before they settled on Lena again. “One thing remains unclear: why?”

Lena bit back a sigh. Of course this question had to come up, although she had hoped, against her better judgement, that it wouldn’t. But invading citizens’ privacy was probably part of Secret Agent 101.

She put on a little smile nonetheless, ignoring that the director’s expression remained unchanged in response.

“I’m sure meteorologists all over the world applaud this experiment. The advancement to science will be its own reward.”

“With all due respect, Ms Luthor,” Henshaw said, while Alex wrinkled her nose, as if to say ‘which is none, right now’, “If you expect us to give you the green light for covering National City in homemade natural snow, we’d like to know your reasons.”

Lena lifted an eyebrow. “With equal respect, director, I am not asking for permission. L-Corp is authorised by the city council to possess and manoeuvre drones over National City, and as for the nucleators, well. Our average air pollution lies at 90 US AQI; a few microgram of non-toxic bacteria should be the least of our worries.

“So, I will make it snow on Christmas, that is already decided. I’m just here to inform you about the possible fluctuations in your readings. Next to L-Corp’s own technology, I figured your sensors would be quickest to pick up changes in the air, and given your history of sometimes hasty action…”

Much to Lena’s gratification, Director Henshaw’s mask of a face finally started showing some cracks. The muscles in his jaw clenching, unclenching, and clenching again, he stepped back from the table where Lena’s lab reports lay spread out.

“We are keeping this city safe,” he said stiffly, “Sometimes quick action is required.”

Lena gifted him with her sweetest smile. “The city is safe. And I just want to make people happy.”

* * *

Alex waited for her in the corridor, leaning against the wall in an entirely unmilitary fashion. She straightened up when Lena closed the door behind her.

“Why are you really doing this?”

Lena smirked. Kara’s sister or not, she kind of liked Alex Danvers. The fire in her, the passion, the competitiveness which reminded Lena of herself. She shrugged.

“Is it so hard to believe that I’d simply like to have a white Christmas?”

“Uh, yes?” Alex gave her a wry look. “You don’t exactly strike me as the type to care for snow. Or weather in general.”

“And yet I understand more of nephology than you want to give me credit for.”

Alex’s gaze darkened. “You’re deflecting.”

That almost drew a laugh from Lena. It seemed Director Henshaw wasn’t the only one who had paid attention at agent school.

“You are good,” she admitted, pulling her coat closer around her as she headed for the door, Alex following her grudgingly. “But I’m still not going to tell you.”

Alex sighed. “Fine.” Then she brightened. “Hey, are you coming over for game night next Friday? Maybe Kara can worm your cloudy secret out – “

“No, don’t tell Kara!” Lena interrupted, then, when Alex’s eyebrows skyrocketed, hastened to add: “You know how she dislikes secrets…”

But it was too late. Alex’s eyes were already widening with comprehension, her jaw dropping with implication. Lena felt her cheeks go red despite herself.

“It was just a silly idea,” she murmured, ducking her head to escape Alex’s almost manic stare. “She just mentioned how much she missed the snowy winters in Midvale and I just…”

“Lena fucking Luthor,” Alex said slowly, effectively cutting through Lena’s rambling, “You better treat her well or else.”

Lena’s face was positively burning now, and she suddenly wished she’d never come here. But she couldn’t have risked Kara’s Christmas surprise being destroyed by the DEO overreacting to unusual cloud formation, and so here she stood, struggling not to squirm under Alex Danvers’ sternest glare.

“It’s not like that,” she said hurriedly. “We’re not – Well, _she_ ’s not – I mean, it’s not like she – “

Alex snorted. “It’s not like she won’t gift you her entire heart when you make it snow for her, and you know that.” Her eyes narrowed, but she was grinning now, and Lena felt her nervousness fade away like it had never existed in the first place.

“You really think so?” She asked, smiling slyly when Alex gasped.

“Oh, don’t play innocent now. You totally planned this! You charmed my sister into being your friend, and now you’ll charm her into being your girlfriend.”

Lena bit her lip. “Girlfriend is a big word…”

“And self-made snow is a big gesture,” Alex shrugged, then leaned close. “Look, obviously I cannot say with absolute certainty that Kara will react that way, but between the two of us: if she doesn’t propose to you right there and then, I just might.”


	2. i don't want a lot for christmas (there is just one thing i need)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, what I forgot to say yesterday, but I'm sure you figured it out by now: all the chapter titles are taken from Christmas carols, so obviously I don't own any of them (just as I don't own the characters, un-very-fortunately).  
> Anyway, have fun with today's fic, it's kinda *steamy* (but still T-rated).  
> Enjoy!

The two cups of steaming hot chocolate that Kara had somehow managed to prepare were sitting in a precarious spot on the couch table, and Lena couldn’t help her eyes being drawn to them time and time again with every grand gesture Kara made.

“Favourite Christmas decoration!” She was currently exclaiming, hands flowing up before Lena could reply. “No, wait wait, I can guess that, hold on, hold on hold on hold on – candles!”

“Accurate.” Lena smiled when Kara squealed like a little kid. For someone who claimed to be immune to earth spirits, Kara sure had a peculiar reaction to the two or three gloggs they’d had at the Christmas market. Ever since they’d come home to the loft, the Kryptonian had been oscillating between making heartfelt confessions of her love for Lena, zipping through the room at super-speed, and conducting a comical little quiz show with herself to see how well she knew her girlfriend.

“Guess mine!” Kara grinned widely, and suddenly she was hanging upside down from the ceiling, a waterfall of hair cascading down like tinsel.

Lena let out a laugh, while also moving the cups somewhat closer to the centre of the table, just in case.

“Stars?”

“Yes!” Kara pressed a sound kiss to Lena’s lips as a reward, a rule of their game that Lena found herself being rather fond of. “How did you know?”

Lena let her gaze wander over the nine or ten three-dimensional paper stars on the couch table, the cluster of folded stars stuck to the windowpanes, the literal hundreds of them pinned to every branch of the Christmas tree, and shrugged.

“Lucky guess.”

“Aww,” Kara pouted, simultaneously sliding into Lena’s lap, “It’s unfair how good you are at guessing.”

Lena hummed. “It’s because you’ve been asking the same questions all evening now.”

“Have not. Favourite – “

“Christmas song? Yours is All I Want for Christmas is You – which continues to be a terrible choice, by the way – and mine is Fairytale of New York.”

“Pff,” Kara made, followed up by a series of kisses down Lena’s neck. “And what about your favourite – “

“Reindeer? Vixen. Yours is Dasher because, I quote, ‘we’re both of us dashing, aren’t we,’ to which I – “ Lena hissed when Kara hit a particular sweet spot “ – partially agreed. What are you doing?”

“Shh.” Kara’s lips dragged across Lena’s throat to her collarbone, the faintest hint of teeth in her smile. “I’m distracting you from winning the game.”

The laugh Lena released was decidedly more breathy than before. “I’m not even playing the game.”

“You are now. Favourite pattern on wrapping paper?”

“Yours?” Lena arched into Kara’s touch. “Stars again, though you changed it to glogg mugs after your third.”

“They are very cute, I never noticed that before. Like, so teeny tiny and sort of shaped like so,” Kara raked her nails down Lena’s back in an arbitrary pattern.

Lena’s deadpan “They’re shaped like regular mugs just smaller” came out garbled in response. Kara breathed a chuckle into the hollow of her throat.

“Favourite Christmas tradition.”

Lena frowned. “Objection. You haven’t asked that before.”

“So?” Kara grinned innocently up at her, hands slipping beneath Lena’s blouse. “Answer the question or admit defeat.”

“Not fair,” Lena muttered, but her complaint was cut short by a warning squeeze of her hips. A moment later, Kara’s fingers began creeping upward.

“It’s not that hard.” Her thumb brushed over Lena’s waist, then her ribs. “It starts on C.” She licked her lips. “It’s edible.”

Lena groaned, straining against the feather light touches, but Kara moved out of reach each time she tried to lean closer.

“Guess,” she murmured, inches away from Lena’s lips, “Guess or give up.”

“I don’t know,” Lena hissed, not even caring how pathetic she sounded, “Fucking Christmas cookies maybe?”

The smile that spread on Kara’s face was bright enough to light half a dozen Christmas trees, and the next moment her body was flush against Lena’s, and Lena’s was flush against the mattress, and Lena barely had time to damn that super-speed before her brain disconnected.

* * *

“What’s yours?” Kara asked afterwards, drawing lazy circles on Lena’s bare back.

“My what?”

Kara grinned at the sleepy contentment in her voice. “Your favourite Christmas tradition, of course.”

“Oh.” Lena thought about that. “Opening the Christmas cupboard probably.”

“What is that?”

Kara’d sat up, her blue eyes already clear again. Her glogg haze seemed to have vanished and her alien stamina kicked in. Lena barely suppressed a yawn.

“It’s an Irish thing, I guess,” she said slowly. “I remember my mam doing it, and I took it up again now that I’m living alone.” She smiled. “Actually, I think you will like this. It’s a cupboard filled with sweets and chocolate and really expensive liquors, and it’s locked throughout the year, but in December, for special occasions, you may open it and share the treats with guests and family.”

“Wait,” Kara held up her hand, “Pause, pause. Are you telling me you have a whole closet full of sweets, and you only eat them in December?”

“It’s a mortal sin to open the Christmas cupboard during the year, unless it’s to restock.”

Kara gaped. “But you have the key, don’t you. How do you resist the temptation?”

“It’s a family honour to carry the key,” Lena said, appalled. “I take my duties very seriously.”

“Of course,” Kara murmured, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks. “Sorry.” Then she brightened. “Wait, you can only open the Christmas cupboard when guests are over, right?”

Lena nodded, “Yeah.”

“Does one person constitute as guests?”

“Depends, I suppose, on the person.” Lena scratched her nose. “I don’t know the specifics either, since I only experienced it when I was really young, but I think if it’s an important person then yes, that should count.”

A sly smile spread on Kara’s face. “An important person… Like a local superhero maybe?”

Lena threw her head back in a sudden bout of laughter. “Are you thinking of someone in particular?”

“Well, I am close friends with Supergirl after all…”

“Right,” Lena said wryly, not quite able to keep the smile from her face. “Well, if _Supergirl_ were inclined to be my dinner guest some day, I am sure something could be arranged with the Christmas cupboard.” 

“Yes!” Kara high-fived Lena’s hand that lay loosely on her stomach, then pressed a kiss to her fingers.

“Who knows,” she said, “maybe I’ll have to change my favourite tradition too.”


	3. and as i look around (your eyes outshine the town)

Being with Kara Danvers had forty-two upsides that Lena could think of in the span of a second. The curve of her smile that Lena could catch a glimpse of every time she turned her head. The warmth of her hand in Lena’s, everlasting as if they weren’t trudging around outside at temperatures well below zero. The excited undercurrent in her voice as she talked on and on about her Christmas preparations and gift choices and menu plans.

Being with Kara Danvers also had one single downside. She had very beautiful eyes.

Usually, that particular circumstance counted as an upside too, and in fact featured in at least three of the forty-two items on Lena’s list. Four, if you counted ‘looking at Lena as if she were the eighth wonder of the world,’ because it was technically something Kara did _with_ her beautiful eyes.

But hidden in the depths of all that beauty and admiration slept a secret superpower. Or, two secret superpowers, one being heat vision, of course. The other, Lena liked to refer to as ‘chandeliers’.

As was customary with metaphors, this wasn’t the most literal description. Naturally, Kara’s eyes didn’t _really_ light up with a couple dozens of candles every time she saw something that ignited her passion. But if you pictured Lena’s life as an empty ballroom, dull and grey and with corners so dark even she didn’t dare go there, the effect that Kara’s enthusiasm had on her came pretty close to actual chandeliers.

One spark and her limbs unfroze, unbent from the position the world had forced them into when Lena was still a child. Two sparks and she felt like dancing.

Three sparks and she found herself in her current position, trying – in vain, one might add – to stop the street artist from thrusting his paintings at her.

“This is a misunderstanding,” Lena said, helplessly accepting canvas after canvas because she’d learned the hard way that the man would just drop them on the ice-frozen ground if she didn’t. “I wanted one painting, one single – small – painting.”

“You pay big, you get big.” The man grinned at her, the 750 Dollar Lena had given him safely stored away in the inner pocket of his too big coat.

And Lena had been worried it wouldn’t suffice, that she would have to run to the bank first, to take out more cash. She’d seen way worse art go for way more.

“No listen,” she tried again, “you get to keep the money. It’s a fair price for a painting. And your pictures are good, you really have an eye for people. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, it’s just that I only meant to buy one painting, for my girlfriend over there, you see?”

Kara, traitor she was, stood a few steps away, giggling over Lena’s mishap as if it hadn’t been her fault entirely. As if it hadn’t been her chandelier eyes that had made Lena almost trip over herself in her hurry to buy that painting, not bothering to stop and google the appropriate price for street art in advance.

The guy – he was almost a boy really, pale and beardless in his chequered overcoat – followed Lena’s gaze and whistled.

“Lady like that, she deserves many paintings.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Lena said, exactly as sharp as she intended to, but the boy only shrugged.

“Looks like a muse,” he replied simply. “Makes me wanna do this.” And he grabbed his notepad and charcoal pen and started sketching.

Within a few seconds, he’d captured Kara’s likeness on the paper. The line of her nose, the curve of her lips, a single curl that had escaped from her hat, it all came alive under the artist’s hand, and as Lena stood and watched breathlessly, he filled in Kara’s eyes with the light of a couple dozens candles.

“Here,” he said, winking at her as he – to Lena’s absolute horror – _folded_ the paper and slid it between two of the canvases in Lena’s arms. “Christmas gift for my best customer.”

And before Lena could protest or even get out a ‘thank you,’ he’d turned away and vanished in the Christmas shopping crowd.

“You two seemed chummy,” Kara welcomed her back, still shaking with silent laughter as Lena staggered under the weight of her purchases.

“I think you mispronounced ‘thank you,’ love,” Lena muttered, but her mortification had subsided. She was suddenly glad about the encounter with the artist, glad she’d probably paid his rent for the next two months, glad to have met him.

Glad for Kara’s chandelier eyes, which were blazing on full force as she leaned in to plant a soft kiss on Lena’s cheek.

“Thank you, love,” she whispered, only a hint teasingly, and Lena smiled.

“You’re welcome. Now, you better come up with a way to get rid of these paintings, because there’s no way we keep all of them.”

“Aww,” Kara fake-pouted, “Why not?”

“Because there are like, twenty-nine of them.”

“Did you count or is that a guess?”

Lena spared Kara the withering glance of someone who barely resisted saying ‘Do I look like I guess?’ Kara adjusted her glasses.

“Right.” There was a pause, in which both of them tried not to laugh.

It didn’t go very well.

“I know,” Kara finally said, after Lena’d complained that laughing made it harder to balance the towering canvases. “In the spirit of Christmas, we could gift them to random passersby.”

Lena suppressed an eye-roll. “Only a Super would propose this.”

“And only a Luthor would reject the idea,” Kara shot back, and that, of course, rendered Lena unable to object to the proposal.

“Fine,” she sighed, “Do your hero thing. As long as you keep me out of it.”

* * *

The next day, Lena woke to several hundred mentions and her name trending on Twitter. Snuggling back into Kara’s embrace, she reluctantly opened the National City News app, fully prepared to see yet another accusation of murder, treason, or at the very least tax evasion.

What she wasn’t prepared for – what nothing in the world could have prepared her for – was a picture of her in a moderately photoshopped Santa hat, splashed on the front page of CatCo’s gossip column. _Santa Luthor_ read the unnecessary colourful headline, and underneath that, _Local_ _M_ _illionaire_ _S_ _truck_ _with_ _Holiday Spirit_.

Lena blinked.  She felt vaguely like in one of these dreams, where you knew that something was about to happen but before you could find out, you woke up and felt disoriented all day. 

Except it had already happened. 

She scrolled through the article in a daze. Apparently, one of the people who had been gifted with a painting by Kara happened to be the young artist’s aunt. She’d recognised the signature, called up her nephew and, upon uncovering the whole story, decided to go to the press.

_She paid for my Philip’s admission to art school_ , she said in the article, which at least cleared up the question where the money had gone.  _I’ve always known Miss Luthor’s heart was in the right spot, but this proves it once and for all_ . 

Although the lie was blatant enough for even CatCo gossip column readers to stumble over, Lena couldn’t help smiling a little. If she had to be all over the media, she by much preferred it to be for something like this.

And when she came across an unknown DM in her notifications that simply said ‘thx for the promo & good luck with the muse,’ maybe she looked at the charcoal sketch framed over her bed and smiled a little extra.


	4. last christmas (i gave you my heart)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for providing us all with this terrible ear worm (it's my least favourite Christmas song), but it fits so well. Also, this chapter is Kara's POV, so I guess it was fate :P  
> Enjoy!

Fifteen years on Earth and Kara still failed to understand human customs sometimes.

In her defence, some of them made very little sense.

Like, road traffic regulations? A mystery. (And even though Kara had a license – had, in fact, fought very hard to get it in the first place and then keep it in many, _many_ other occasions – she was secretly more than relieved that Supergirl didn’t have to abide by red lights.)

But, as much as she’d hated to learn them by heart, at least traffic followed rules. Actual, written, publicly available rules that, for the most part, evaded ambiguity.

The same could not be said for dating. And therein, unfortunately, lay the problem.

See,  Kara’s intentions with the dinner invitation had been as pure as could be. (Which, considering it was Lena they were talking about, might translate to “not quite 100% pure” because, like, have you seen Lena? You didn’t invite someone like that over without secretly dreaming about maybe kissing her a little, platonically.) 

So  anyway, she’d invited Lena for dinner. And it happened to be Christmas, like, the evening they  decided on .  Because  for one, Kara’d meant for Lena to meet Eliza for ages, and  also the thought of Lena  celebrating Christmas  alone in her spacious and endlessly empty apartment made Kara’s stomach cramp into a nauseous lump.

O nce issued, Kara hadn’t paid the invitation much thought beyond the routine “Does this dress make my boobs look flat and why do I care” worries  that accompanied every meeting with Lena.  Oh, and maybe she had been counting the days a little, but like, that was just what people did for Christmas. That was why advent calendars existed (an earthly custom Kara’d always been delighted about).

But in any case, preparations had run smoothly. It was only when the doorbell rang, at 6 pm on the dot just like Kara’d expected, that trouble started loom ing ahead. 

Because Eliza reacted with a  “ This must be your girlfriend.”

Because Alex rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like “ you really should have told me .”

Most of all because Lena greeted Kara with a kiss on her cheek.

(To clarify: the kiss wasn’t the problem. In fact, it was so very much not the problem that it almost became the problem again, because Kara’s body  responded so violently to the soft press of Lena’s lips to her skin  that she all but forgot about the brief confusion as to  _why_ things were happening as they were happening.  A grave mistake on her part, as it turned out. )

And then dinner was served. Kara felt vaguely aware that she was smiling  maybe a tad too widely through the entrée and first toast (“to expanding our family” from Eliza, if Kara remembered correctly – she’d been distracted by Lena’s soft blush  at the words ), but  since she couldn’t have stopped if she’d tried, she figured it was okay. 

B esides, Eliza was beaming too, Lena’s lips were permanently curved into a little smirk that was one of Kara’s favourite expressions on her, and Alex…

Well, Alex was frowning, for the most part.

And in hindsight, that really should have been clue number two.

(Or three, considering that there were a million other second clues happening simultaneously. Like Eliza asking an endless string of questions, starting at “Where did you meet” and ranging up to “Who did ask whom out?” Like Lena finding Kara’s gaze and holding it while answering “depends on who you ask, I suppose” before Kara could ask if Eliza was talking about lunch or what.  Like Lena’s foot brushing against hers under the table and then, instead of moving away, just staying there, lightly resting against Kara’s.  Kara would like to plead that particular circumstance as an excuse for not catching on sooner. )

It took until dessert.

Dessert until Eliza’s bottomless well of seemingly arbitrary questions was exhausted and her eyes, which had been going back and forth between Kara and Lena with sparkling intrigue, settled on a sort of satisfied shine.

Dessert until Lena’s hand had moved from the table to the backrest of Kara’s chair and down to the small of Kara’s back, where it now rested with a casualness that made neurons in Kara’s brain short-circuit.

Dessert until Alex had finally had enough to drink to stop glaring and – much to Kara’s surprise and absolute horror – start sharing  anecdotes about how “Kara’s always liked Lena” and how she “should have known this was coming”.

And, like, Kara’d been in a haze ever since Lena’s lips had connected with her cheek, but even she noticed that this was going somewhere in the direction of downhill. Fast.

Before she could protest, however, before she could sit up straight and avoid Lena’s eyes as she denied the truth in these stories, denied she’d ever thought about Lena like that, denied she’d ever woken up with the shadow of Lena’s name still on her tongue, Lena spoke up.

“I have to admit,” she said, her tone so calm that a treacherous hope somewhere in the back of Kara’s head sets fire to all her lies, “that unlike Alex, I was surprised to receive Kara’s invitation the other day. It’s quite the first step, as first steps go, but I am glad for it. It probably would have taken us years to get to this level of intimacy if we’d chosen the conventional way. In fact, who knows if we’d ever moved beyond the friend zone. I, for one, would have never dared to confess my feelings if I hadn’t been 100% sure that they were reciprocated. So,” she lifted her glass, and pinned Kara down with a stare that seemed to say everything at once, “here’s to the courage to grand gestures.”

And while Eliza and Alex toasted back, Kara’s world shattered.

(But like, in a good way.)

* * *

Sixteen years on Earth and Kara still fails to understand human customs sometimes.

Dating, for example. A mystery. Especially because there are no written rules to it, no actual guidelines that can be read up on if you for example aren’t sure whether celebrating Christmas together counts as a love confession.

(And even if a rule book does exist, dating seems to be a horribly ambiguous matter, in which you coucanld never be sure how the people around you understand or misunderstand your intentions. Or misunderstand them in a way that was already understanding them again. Or even understanding them so well that they can actively pretend misunderstanding them, only so you can understand them yourself.)

In other news, Lena invited Kara to dinner today. It is their first year anniversary.

It also happens to be Christmas.


	5. of all the trees that are in the wood

Five feet five is a perfectly reasonable height, Lena thinks. Of course, everyone wishes to be taller sometimes, but then again, shortness does have its advantages sometimes.

Or, not shortness. Medium height.

She likes to think that not standing six feet tall makes her much more versatile. For example, if she wants to be seen, she can wear high heels. And if she doesn’t, she can blend into the crowds with flat shoes. Tall people do not have that luxury.

Or, not tall people. _Taller_ people.

Anyway, Lena’s height has never really bothered her before. She doesn’t have the sort of problems that other people her height  might face. High shelves in the supermarket do not annoy her, because she rarely goes grocery shopping for herself anyway. When she goes to see  a play at the theatre , she sits in the first row reserved for benefactors.  And, of course, there are the aforementioned heels that have helped her brave many a challenging situation. 

So really, five five is a perfectly reasonable height.

The Christmas tree is just unreasonably tall.

And it’s her fault, she supposes, for  promising Kara they’d buy her favourite tree in the whole nursery before they had even got there. Like, she should have known Kara would choose the single most extravagant tree in sight, expanding and so viciously pricky that only a person with impenetrable skin would ever consider taking it indoors. Even the  retailer gave her a doubtful side glance as she pointed it out to him, and Lena swears she’s heard him cursing under his breath when he logged it for them.

But alas, it is very hard to say no to Kara.  And so here Lena is, with half her living room occupied by a gigantic Nordmann fir and no way to reach past its lower half. 

For the record, she has tried heels. She has tried a stool. She has tried the stool  _and_ heels, but that goddamn tree is so wide that she’s only scratched her legs in the process. 

S o now Lena has adopted drastic measures. 

She doesn’t store much tech at her penthouse, but the day Lena Luthor cannot whip up a little drone from scratch is the day the family name perishes for good. The tongs are a little harder to construct. , They have to be thick enough to support the lines necessary for remote control, but t hey  also  need to move precisely and  delicately so they don’t shatter the ornaments. Lena experiments a little with tinsel first, and only moves on to baubles and porcelain after she’s managed to hang the golden threads in perfectly parallel lines. 

B y then, night has fallen without Lena so much as paying it a second thought. The blinking lights of the city illuminate the room enough to steer the drone, and that is all she needs really, to keep going. ‘ Rabbit hunts ’ is what Kara likes to call these  periods of  intense  concentration that Lena regularly experiences, after Alice in Wonderland, following the white rabbit down its hole.  Lena prefers to think of them as focus marathons. 

Like they are actually training for her brain, and not an unhealthy habit that she’s picked up at college.

Anyway,  this time Lena also has an ulterior motive to her urgency to be done with the tree. For one thing, she likes the idea of surprising Kara with a fully decorated living room when she comes home from working late today. Lena imagines how it will go down approximately like this: One, the sound of the key in the door, just as Lena finishes dissembling her embarrassing little make-shift drone. Two, Kara’s cheerful voice from the hallway, letting Lena know that she’s back. Three, Lena opening the door to the living room with her specially practised Secret-Santa-smile. Four, Kara lighting up in the way only Kara can, eyes shining, cheeks glowing, mouth forming a delighted ‘o’. Five, kisses, probably. Everybody is happy.

For another thing, and it makes Lena  grumble just to think about it,  she doesn’t want Kara to  know she’s had trouble because of her height. Like, it is easy to be proud of five feet five when she is alone and blissfully unaware. It is considerably harder when her five feet eight girlfriend sweeps in to steal the show.

Not that she doesn’t like these three inches Kara has on her, she does, oh, she does.

She just doesn’t want Kara to be all too aware of them.

And so she continues manoeuvring her remote-controlled helper, puts up stars and angels and real candles, because she lives with a superhero, who can nip any potential danger in the bud.  At one point it does get a little dark in the room, and she cheerfully flies to the light switches, turns them on with a skilful flick of her tongs. 

She doesn’t notice the figure looming in front of her window scurry away at the sudden blaze of light. She doesn’t see it settle down in the air a bit further away, watching her go about her decoration. She doesn’t hear the wind carry its laughter as she becomes a little boisterous towards the end, flies helixes and somersaults with the final pieces.

The sudden knock on her balcony doors consequently startles her enough that she drops her remote control and the drone tumbles to the floor. There is a heart-wrenching crunch as it breaks in two, but Lena barely hears it. She’s swivelled around to look right into the eyes of the very person she’s tried to hide from.

Kara grins right back.

“Hey,” she shouts through the glass, motioning towards the tree that is only lacking the final star on the top at this point, “May I help you with that?”

And Lena knows, reads it in the amused curve of Kara’s lips, the tilt of her head, that Kara has been witnessing enough that hiding the drone is unnecessary. She curses under her breath, but moves to let Kara in.

“Would you believe me if I said it was for science?” She says, accepting Kara’s cloak and welcome kiss like a stay-at-home girlfriend. It’s worth a try.

But “Nope” Kara replies promptly, popping the p.  She’s surveying the tree with an appreciative gleam in her eye. “Your robot did good work.”

“It wasn’t so bad,” Lena agreed, with a regretful glance at the heap of wire and metal on the floor. Then she directs her attention back to the still naked tip of the tree. Noticing with no small amount of glee that it’s too high up for even Kara to reach it without help, she gestures. “How – “

She doesn’t have time to finish before Kara scoops her up.

“As I said,” she whispers into Lena’s ear, floating on the spot while Lena carefully pins the star to the branch, “Let me help you with that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> rip "marvel the drone"   
> yours was a life short-lived but purposeful


	6. glories stream from heaven afar (heavenly hosts sing 'alleluia)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This... got out of hand... It's longer than usual, and also only vaguely connected to the prompt. Forgive me, for it is a shameless self-insert.  
> Have fun ':D

Kara is running late.

It’s not her fault, at least not in the strictest sense. Like, she did exit her cab more or less around the time she was due to be on stage. Which is to say, a trifle late, maybe. Marginally. And yes, that part may or may not be blamed on her (because traffic really is _crazy_ during Christmas season, but maybe she could have anticipated that).

But. City hall? A joke. The amount of time Kara’s spent scurrying (literally, courtesy of the heels Kara’s stupidly decided on wearing) through what feels like miles of endlessly monotonous corridors could and should have been put to better use. Like catching her breath for example. Could be useful if she’s supposed to sing.

Unfortunately, it looks like there won’t be much breath-catching happening. While the next corner Kara rounds does seem to be the last one (like, there is a door ahead, but is it the right door?), the corridor stretching out in front of her for the final sprint is void of people. Which either means that Kara’s managed to get lost completely – or the gala has already started.

But no, the door is still blissfully ajar, a faint triangle of light spilling through the crack. It’s golden, and Kara knows, just _knows_ , that it originates from a boisterous array of chandeliers. (Because, like, it’s city hall. Tax money has to go _somewhere_.) 

A nyway, it’s not like Kara’s complaining. In fact, she’s rather looking forward to being enveloped in that soft light instead of feeling like she’s being stripped bare naked under the unforgiving stare of a spotlight. It’s about the  _atmosphere_ . Also, it’s almost Christmas for heaven’s sake.

So she speeds up, one last time, heels tapping a rapid staccato against the planks of the floor. She’s late, but it doesn’t matter (who needs vocal warm-up anyway), because the door is right there, and she is going to make it. She’s going to slip in unnoticed and a little out of breath, and she’s going to make her way upstage as if she’d been mingling with the crowd all along. She’s going to –

The door closes.

Kara is so near, her fingers can practically feel the cool brass of the handle already, and the door closes, right into her face. Literally. Because Kara’s spent the entire length of that last corridor gaining speed, and there is _no way_ she can grind to a halt on the five feet something between her and the damn closed door. And so she slams, hands first, full body second, against the solid wood.

The crash is deafening, and for a split second, all Kara can think about is how it will be impossible to sneak in now.  Then she rebounds, and her focus is redirected to trying to keep her balance. It doesn’t go very well (the heels were a bad decision in all aspects), in fact, it doesn’t go at all.  Luckily, she still doesn’t fall.

This is mainly due to the pair of hands suddenly wrapped around her shoulders. A pair of very pale and very slender hands, which connect to equally pale and slender arms and ultimately –

“Golly!” Kara exclaims on a whim. There really isn’t much else to exclaim, because the woman (yes, woman, and already Kara is swooning over her strong grip) staring back at her is about as beautiful as words do not exist to express how beautiful. And not in an all-words-got-knocked-out-of-Kara-in-the-crash way. But in a real way. Like. A literal-goddess-but-even- _more_ -beautiful way. 

A literal goddess whose brow is beginning to wrinkle into a frown, before she opens her mouth (lips, Kara thinks, lipslipslips) to speak.

“Are you alright?”

And the thing is, Kara is. She has never been more alright than in this moment, wrapped up in a life-saving grasp, basking in the glow of elysian eyes. And she would like to tell the woman as much, because said elysium is starting to look awfully clouded with concern that Kara doesn’t want to be the reason for. She would like to nod,  and thank the woman (because she does have manners, Kara, if nothing else), and then maybe ask her to elope together. Or something.

But she can’t. Because she cannot move, and she cannot speak, and she believes she might be experiencing what Alex calls Gay Panic. But she can’t be sure because not even her brain is working as it should.

The woman (the angel, the queen, _the_ _woman_ ) seems to be panicking too, although Kara doubts it’s in the same way. Her hands squeeze Kara’s arms, and she’s shaking her kind of gently, all the while staring intently into Kara’s eyes, searching, presumably, for some reaction. 

“Shit,” she mutters eventually, and somehow that’s what does the job.

Kara shivers right out of her trance. Something inside of her breaks like a dam,  comes undone  at the sacrilege of a swearing angel,  and suddenly the words spill out of her in a flood.

“This might come as a shock,” she tells her saviour, who actually jumps at the sudden change, “but I am fine. Ish. Fine-ish. I mean, I did crash into that door pretty bad, but it’s nothing. Or, not nothing, I mean, will I have the biggest bump tomorrow? Probably. But I’ve had it worse. Like, one time I walked into a car, like, a moving one? It was in a play street though, so it wasn’t _that_ bad, but I mean, it’s still a car, right? Anyway, I survived that too. As you can see. Didn’t even have a concussion. So, uh, who knows, right, maybe I’m indestructible. Maybe that’s my secret superpower or something.” 

At this she grins widely at the woman. The woman doesn’t  smile back. In fact, she’s sporting a stare that is a little to blank for Kara’s liking. She bites down on her tongue, hard, willing the words to stop before she’s sent to the closest asylum. She did come to sing, after all. Even though that’s decidedly not going well  so far.

“Anyway,” she says cautiously, resisting the urge to wave her hand before the woman’s eyes. “I am good. And I actually came here for the gala? I’m supposed to sing…”

She is stared at for a beat longer, before the woman blinks. And blinks again. Then she shakes her head, quickly and forcefully, like she’s trying to dissipate unwelcome thoughts.

“You are not singing.”

It’s stated so matter-of-factly that Kara’s almost inclined to nod just because the tone indicates it. She catches herself at the last moment.

“Uh, yeah I am, that’s what I’m here for.” But then she falters suddenly. “Unless this is not the annual Christmas Charity Gala? Cause if it’s not, then I’m so sorry, I may have slammed into this door for nothing.”

There is a beat of stunned silence and then – heaven. The woman starts laughing, loud and prolonged, with her head tipped back and her neck on full display (and goodness, what a neck it is). When she stops at last, gasping for air as if _Kara_ weren’t the one slowly suffocating on the spot, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes glowing.

“You’re right,” she says, faint traces of laughter still enriching her voice, “this is the gala.”

“Thank goodness.” Kara doesn’t trust herself to say more, lest she add an accidental love confession. It could happen. Kara is _that_ clumsy. As has been proven. 

The clipped answer earns her a curious look (maybe Kara’s superpower is making a fool of herself in front of beautiful women after all), before the woman blinks and her whole expression changes. The lopsided smile slides into a smirk. The amused glint in her eyes turns allusive. And the slow bat of her lashes is downright predatory.

“You still shouldn’t perform tonight.” Her voice drops an entire octave. “For safety reasons.”

Kara swallows. Hard.  Her mouth feels like a bucket of sand has been emptied into it.  She isn’t sure if her heart rate will ever go back to normal. She swallows again. 

“Oh?”

The woman smiles as if she’s all to aware of Kara’s struggles (not that Kara is doing a very good job at hiding them, probably). She nods slowly.

“Yes, see, I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you – “ her eyes drag over Kara’s body, which promptly starts tingling “ – during or after the event.”

“Huh,” Kara makes. Her cheeks are probably on fire, but the woman doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she appears to be absolutely delighted with Kara. Somehow, that gives Kara the courage to say her next words.

“I think I deserve to be given a try.”

She immediately  buries her face in her hands after that, not daring to look at the woman as she waits with bated breath for a reaction. She is not disappointed.

A throaty chuckle vibrates through the air, a murmur of “very well,” and suddenly a new scent reaches Kara’s nose. It’s heady and laced with spice, and it infiltrates her brain like heavy liquor. And then there is the faintest touch at Kara’s ear, and a low voice wading through the haze.

“Sing for me, stranger.”

And oh, Kara does.

(She only learns later, during the  gala , that her saviour is actually Lena Luthor.  Like, _the_ Lena Luthor.  Her mind shatters a bit at the information, and  she wonders if she’s managed to misread the mood completely, or what. Because there’s  _no way_ National City’s  most influential woman  sort of maybe  hit on Kara a little. So Kara’s attempt at flirting back must have been totally out of line. 

But before she even has the chance to spiral, Lena catches her eye. And she tilts her head and winks sort of teasingly at Kara, and yeah, no woman crosses her legs like that without any ulterior motives. Kara hopes. 

She promptly misses the first line of Silent Night. )


	7. kiss me or we'll never know (we can blame it on the mistletoe)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I seem to have forgotten how to write short fic...   
> So, enjoy a 1.6k beast, I guess ^^

The first time it happens, it’s actually an accident.

One of her employees must have put it up, because they thought it would lighten the mood or because they had a crush on a co-worker, Lena doesn’t know. All she does know is that when she stops to talk to Kara during her daily check-up on CatCo, someone yells “kiss” and the whole bullpen falls silent.

That includes Kara, who freezes mid-sentence, then turns crimson, before she, very slowly, lifts her eyes to the ceiling.

And at first, Lena doesn’t understand. For one, two, several seconds, she waits for Kara to continue telling her about that new take-out restaurant she’s found. For a short, very short moment, she feels a tiny pang of annoyance at Kara’s sudden muteness, at her refusal to meet her eyes. For some, blissfully oblivious beats, she doesn’t feel addressed by the “kiss” or the silence, that is unfolding deafeningly around them.

Then she follows Kara’s gaze up. Then she notices the sprig of green that is dangling from the lamp above them. Then she realises that not only is everyone in the room waiting for her to kiss her best friend, but Kara is too, blushing and helpless and jarringly apologetic.

“I’m sorry,” she murmurs, low enough that only Lena can hear her, “I thought I’d memorised all the spots we’d put them, but I must have missed this one.”

And maybe it’s the trace of nervousness in Kara’s voice and the gauging expression in her eyes as she waits for Lena’s reaction, or maybe it’s the shine of lip gloss on the curve of Kara’s mouth and the fact that it has never looked more inviting. But Lena suddenly finds that as inane as she’s always thought this mistletoe business to be, she doesn’t mind it that much this time.

And so, instead of turning away with an eye-roll and a scornful smile, as she might have done two years ago, Lena straightens up.

“Don’t apologise,” she whispers back, and allows her hand to cup Kara’s burning cheek. “It’s not a big deal.”

Except when she leans in and sees Kara’s eyes widen, senses Kara’s lip quiver, hears Kara’s minute gasp – she finds that she can’t do it. Her heart rate is peaking from the closeness alone, her legs feel like jell-o. She is suddenly aware that kissing Kara might be something she will never return from. Something that will change her existence forever. Something that her body will crave until it disintegrates.

And Lena shies away. Presses her lips to a spot of Kara’s face that is not quite the corner of her mouth and not quite her cheek. Stumbles back as the office cheers and Kara ducks her head. And flees.

Turns out, it’s a big deal after all.

* * *

After that, things change for Lena.

Of course, she noticed Kara before. It is hard not to, when her best friend has a weakness for tight slacks, and plaid shirts that show off her shoulders just so, and a smile that lights up ball rooms. But after the incident that Lena likes to call heureka-moment in her head, well…

Let’s just say Lena is more aware now. Of too-big sweaters that really have no business looking as good on Kara as they do. Of careless touches that leave a burning trail on Lena’s skin, so potent she wonders how it isn’t visible.

Of mistletoes.

There really are a lot of them, once Lena pays attention. At CatCo especially, and the thought of Kara’s involvement in the circumstance makes Lena’s heart trip out of its rhythm. It must mean something, she catches herself thinking, over and over again. She doesn’t believe in fate, but then again, she didn’t really believe in mistletoes either.

But now she counts them. She memorises them. She recites their locations before she goes to sleep at night, and when she wakes up in the morning, she spends her breakfast coming up with excuses to wait for Kara under one of them.

Because now that she’s had time to think about it, now that there isn’t a room full of people watching her come to a conclusion, now that Kara isn’t looking at her with a beautiful melange of nervousness and anticipation in her eyes, Lena has made up her mind. She has weighed her pros and cons, tracked her thought processes, and decided that as far as life-changing circumstances go, she’s already way too far gone to go back now.

If she spends a lifetime longing for Kara, she might as well get a kiss out of it.

And so the second time it happens, it’s very much by design.

* * *

The day is Saturday, and the bullpen is empty safe for a few stragglers who are behind schedule with their pieces for CatCo weekly.

Kara is one of them, but only because she volunteered to help with the Christmas Extra on top of her usual articles. She’s told Lena all about it on the phone yesterday, and if it hadn’t complimented Lena’s plans so excellently that she forgot to breathe, she would have sighed fondly at the excitement in Kara’s voice.

The very same enthusiasm is laced through her every step today too, magnifies her smile, vibrates through her surprised “Lena!” as Lena strolls into the room.

“I brought doughnuts,” Lena says in lieu of a hello, and although she’s rehearsed this line in the car, her tongue trips over the words in anticipation of what she has set out to do.

It doesn’t matter. Kara has already spied the bag full of sugary treats, and her eyes light up.

“Guys!” She exclaims, just like Lena knew she would, “Come here, Lena’s brought snacks!”

“For all you hard-working souls,” Lena says, and although this is just a diversionary tactic, her heart warms at the grateful smiles she receives.

Of course, none is more grateful than Kara’s. Lena’s been counting on that too. With Kara being fully immersed in savouring her doughnut, her guard is lowered enough not to notice that Lena is gently urging her towards the nearest mistletoe.

Kara finishes chewing her last bite just when they are in perfect position. She licks her lip, sighs happily – and freezes.

_Score._

“Lena…” She whispers, not even bothering to look up. Just like Lena, she knows the position of all the mistletoe in the room. Just like Lena, she’s fully aware they’re standing right below one. Unlike Lena, she probably wonders how they got there.

“Oh,” Lena says, and although she meant to sound surprised, her eyes are already so fixed on the smudge of powdered sugar on Kara’s lips that it comes out breathless and longing. “Oh no…”

A nd the bullpen is quiet again, not because they’re being watched, but because everyone’s too busy eating to pay them any mind. And Kara’s skin is soft under her fingers again as she all but leans into Lena’s touch, trusting, waiting. And Lena’s heart is going miles again, and now she’s stepping closer, and now she’s feeling Kara’s breath on her lips, and now she – 

She can’t do it. She sways away at the last second. Kisses a spot that is marginally closer to the corner of Kara’s mouth than last time, but still a full inch away from where the sugar smudge seems to laugh mockingly at her. Jerks away before Kara or anyone can react. 

And flees.

* * *

The third time it happens, everything is different.

For starters, they are completely alone at CatCo. That’s mostly due to the office being closed for the duration of the holidays. Lena’s a business woman, but she isn’t a monster, after all. In fact, she has personally come to shoo out the loiterers, workaholic interns that claimed to “just want to finish this one little thing, promise Ms Luthor, just this one – “

None of their defences lasted long against Lena’s warmest CEO glare.

And so she’s sent them packing, seen them out through the automatic glass doors, wished and received a hundred felicitations. Until only she is left, the key pressed into the soft plane of her hand, on the late afternoon of the 24th.

Outside, night is falling quick like raindrops, sweeping the city up in a dark embrace. Inside, Lena lingers in the bullpen, her eyes seeking out the sprigs of mistletoe in the room.

There are eleven of them, and each seems to have the shape of Kara’s smile. And although Lena has long since moved past the self-degradation, the late-night detestation of her very person, at this moment, she can’t help but curse herself a little. For missing her chances. For chickening out. For –

“Lena?”

She swirls around as if Kara’d caught her in an act of crime. For a brief second, she wonders if it is wrong what she’s doing, having this kind of thoughts about her best friend, sweet, kind-hearted, _innocent_ Kara. But then she meets Kara’s gaze, falls into the pools of her eyes, into the longing that swirls through them, discernible even in the low light.

And how can it ever be wrong if it feels like coming home?

She’s so close to leaning in, the impulse throbs through her like physical ache.  Luthors take what they want, and she’s never wanted anything like she’s wanting now .  And yet she can’t. Stands petrified and breathless under the only door frame that isn’t adorned with green, while Kara Danvers smiles at her like she’s about to let her in on a secret.

“What…” Lena murmurs, and that’s exactly how far she gets. Before Kara’s fingers slide under her chin, lifting it up. Before her eyes focus on something Kara’s holding in her other hand, something green and prickly, holding it in the air right above them.

Before Kara kisses her.

And she doesn’t miss Lena’s mouth. She doesn’t flee, but pulls Lena closer, into her, until all Lena can perceive is Kara, Kara’s lips against her, Kara’s arms around her, Kara _with_ her as she unceremoniously drops the mistletoe.


	8. take the day off, get a massage (cause we've got this one all under control)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2k words...  
> This one's my personal favourite so far, hope you enjoy it as well!

_9:15 am_

“Golly, am I looking forward to this day.” Kara yawns and huddles closer against the curve of Lena’s back. Her breath tickles Lena’s neck, warm and comfortable. Lena hums.

“Four.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s the fourth time you’ve said this,” Lena murmurs. “Not that I mind.” She can feel sleep tugging at her eyelids once more and relishes in the thought that she won’t have to fight it. That she can succumb to the weight guiltlessly.

Kara doesn’t reply. She’s probably drifted off again already and will wake in half an hour with the same sentence on her lips once more. Lena smiles a bit about the predictability of it all, before a yawn overcomes her and drags her down with it.

* * *

_9:51 am_

“Golly,” Kara says, sleep still blurring her words. “I love this, I really do. What a good idea.”

Lena  makes an affirmative sound, somewhere between a sigh and a purr. She ha s n’t felt this relaxed in months, maybe even years. The warmth of Kara’s arm around her waist, the cold of Kara’s nose against her neck, what more  can a woman  ask for ?

“I am starting to become a bit hungry though,” comes Kara’s voice from behind, and Lena has to suppress a chuckle as she rolls around to face her girlfriend. 

“Of course you are.”

“Hey!” Kara’s eyes were still closed, but they open now, blinking slowly several times until all traces of tiredness have given way to a semi-offended glare. “It’s – “ she pauses and squints at the clock “ – more than two hours after my usual breakfast time. Of course my stomach is demanding attention.”

Lena lets out a laugh. “Demanding, huh? And that although you so dislike to be ordered around.”

Kara’s on her suddenly, pinning her down so quickly that Lena strongly suspects the involvement of superspeed.

“Damn right,” she says in a low voice, letting her gaze wander over Lena menacingly. Unfortunately, the effect is somewhat undermined by Kara’s stomach releasing a protesting grumble just then. Kara blushes, and just like that she rolls off of Lena again.

“Boss said no,” she murmurs, shrugging helplessly.

L ena grins. “Good thing we’ve got all day.”

“Golly, am I looking forward to that.”

* * *

_11:38 am_

The phone rings just when Lena is beginning to contemplate a nap. The sun still hasn’t peeked through the clouds once, and so it continues to be exactly the kind of dreary that you could wish for on a day like this. The kind of dreary that practically invites you to sleep.

But the phone is ringing, and that means Lena has to make a decision. She groans as she lifts her head from Kara’s chest to look at her.

“Reject or ignore?”

Kara shrugs. Her fingers are drawing lazy circles on Lena’s back,  and she looks about as sleepy as Lena’s felt just a minutes ago.

“Maybe I’ll look who it is and choose then,” Lena decides, reaching for the vibrating device. It’s Jess, and apparently it’s not the first time she’s tried to get through to Lena. They have somehow managed to miss three calls, and if that isn’t proof of a dedicated sex life, then Lena doesn’t know. She chuckles quietly.

“It’s Jess,” she tells Kara, “for the third time.”

“What does she want?”

“I wouldn’t know.” The call stops. A small flutter of worry stirs in Lena’s stomach, even though she doesn’t want to feel it. Doesn’t want to leave the comfortable bubble Kara and she have created for themselves today.

Kara seems to sense where her thoughts are going, because she takes the phone from Lena and puts it on the nightstand again.

“No work,” she says sternly, “no outside world, and no leaving the bed unless it’s for food or bathroom breaks. Those are the rules.”

Lena bites her lip. She swallows the ‘What if’s’ that lie on the tip of her tongue.  She b anishes the thought of work to the  remotest corner of her mind and kisses Kara on her collarbone instead.

“You’re right,” she murmurs, “they’ll get by without me for one day.”

* * *

_2:01 pm_

It turns out that Kara is much less relaxed when it’s her phone that’s ringing. Or maybe it’s the amount of calls she gets. But with every time her ringtone sounds out, she gets quieter and quieter, until at one point, she grabs her phone exasperatedly, turns it off, and tosses it into the armchair at the opposite corner of the room.

“One day!” She exclaims. “One day, the darkest day of the year, and a Sunday at that! You’d think the criminals would stay at home voluntarily, snuggle up to _their_ girlfriend maybe, enjoy a good 32 hours in bed, and just take. One. Day. Off. It’s not that hard, or is it?”

“It’s not,” Lena concurs, finishing one braid in Kara’s long and unfairly soft hair and starting another.

“I work the year round, every day. And night, mind you. Weekends, holidays, always. And I do it gladly. I do it selflessly. I do it with a smile on my face, even. But one day off. One day. Is that really too much to ask for?”

“It’s not.” Lena pauses her braiding to put a soothing hand on Kara’s head. “You’re just doing such a good job the rest of the time, people have forgotten how to take care of themselves without you.”

Kara leans into the touch  with a sigh and a grateful smile. “ Is it wrong that I kind of like how much they depend on me, even though it annoys me today?”

“Of course not.” Lena lightly scratches her nails over Kara’s scalp, drinking up the contented sighs that fall form Kara’s lips. “I think everybody wants to be needed. It gives us purpose. It gives us strength.” She leans down to press a gentle kiss to Kara’s forehead before she takes up her braiding again. “It’s one of the greatest paradoxes of humankind that this strength doesn’t suffice to sustain you. That you need breaks from being useful, lest your strength depletes.”

Kara nods, momentarily upsetting the row of braids Lena has already finished.

“I love you,” she says.

Lena smiles. “I love you too.”

* * *

_3:45 pm_

“I think my butt fell asleep.”

“I call your butt and raise you two legs.” Lena groans. “How do teenagers _do_ this?”

“Do what?” Kara asks, giggling a little at the exaggerated noises Lena is making.

“Do _this_.” Lena gestures at the two of them, sprawled out on the mattress. “Lie in bed all day, barely moving, except to change the video game or whatever they occupy their brains with all day.”

Kara laughs, loud and hearty. “Rao, Lena, sometimes you are so  odd .”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“Not all teenagers spend all their time in bed, dummy,” Kara says, and it’s only her fond tone that saves her from the pillow Lena almost hurdles at her. “I, for example, was a very active teenager.”

“You hardly count,” Lena retorts, sticking out her tongue when Kara narrows her eyes at her. “Because you’re always active.”

Kara wrinkles her nose, but Lena’s point holds. She huffs.

“What about you then, what did you do as a teenager?”

“I,“ Lena says dignifiedly, “didn’t experience an adolescence.”

“Lena, your adolescence was less than ten years ago.”

Lena sighs dramatically and rolls over, facing her girlfriend with a regretful stare.

“Tell that to my back pain…”

* * *

_4:09 pm_

“Isn’t it sad,” Kara muses, kneading Lena’s trapezius muscle with blissfully strong hands, “how it’s already getting dark again?”

Lena moans softly when Kara hits a particularly tense spot. “Is it?”

“Yeah.”

They are silent for a while, Kara moving slowly and methodically up and down Lena’s back, Lena shimmying in and out of consciousness. No phone has rung in over two hours, nobody has disturbed them in their self-imposed solitude, no rule has been broken so far. They are doing exactly what they’ve planned for the day, and it is nothing.

“What a good day,” Lena murmurs, “What a good idea.”

Kara gives her ass a squeeze, and Lena, well on her way to another nap, almost jumps.

“The hell?” She exclaims, which immediately earns her another slap. “What?”

Kara’s voice is a melange of amusement and indignation. “You forgot the golly!”

* * *

_6:37 pm_

They start speaking at the same time.

“It’s almost Christmas,” Kara says, and Lena murmurs “How am I already tired?” and then they look at each other and laugh.

“What did you say?” Simultaneously. “You first.”

Lena recovers faster, so she pokes Kara, who’s still laughing, between the ribs.

“Tick, your turn, please speak now.” She presents Kara her fist as a mic, which only results in another burst of laughter. Then Kara’s hand closes around hers, pulling her closer.

“Hello hello, can you hear me?”

Lena giggles. She feels carefree in a way she hasn’t felt in possibly all her life. “Loud and clearly. Please repeat you r question.”

“Yes hello,” Kara says, pompous in a way that is exactly like on real TV interviews. “I didn’t so much ask a question as rather observing a fact. That fact being of course the upcoming holiday, namely Christmas.” 

At this point they have to drop the act, because Lena is laughing so hard that the mic is shaking and “the connection seems to be bad, hello hello?” And Kara grins at Lena like she did when Lena first fell in love with her, wide and open and with her heart in her hands, ready to give it to  anyone she thought worth fighting for. Even a Luthor. Even Lena.

“I’m looking forward to Christmas,” Lena says, but what she means is that she’s never liked the holidays much, until Kara came around and made them worthwhile.

And somehow Kara understands.

“Yes,” she says, “me too.”

* * *

_8:52 pm_

“There’ll be much work to catch up on tomorrow,” Lena sighs, playing with the thought of looking at her phone and deciding against it. “But that are tomorrow’s problems.”

Kara hums. She’s floating half an inch above the bed because she finds the mattress is too warm after bearing her body all day.

“I’m still looking forward to that somehow.”

Lena chuckles.  “ Yes, me too. Isn’t that weird? I thoroughly enjoyed today, but I couldn’t do it again tomorrow.”

“It’s about the – “ Kara forms the chef’s kiss gesture minus the kiss “ – _purpose_.” She turns on her side to look at Lena. “Or so a wise woman once told me.”

“Sounds very wise indeed. Did she also say something about the reason why I’m tired even though we did nothing all day?”

“Nope.” Kara pops the p, then lets herself fall back on the bed. “But here’s my theory: inaction is like negative action. And at the end of the day, it’s the absolute value that counts, minus or plus doesn’t matter. So if you’ve balanced action and inaction, you won’t be that tired, because they cancel each other. But if you have an overload of either action or inaction…”

“… you’ll feel about as exhausted as I do right now,” Lena finishes, her eyes already closed. “Seems reasonable. It’s compatible with my strength theory, I like that.” She yawns, and feels blindly for Kara’s hand. “Either way, all in favour of an early night, raise your hand.” She lifts their entwined hands off the mattress. “Whooo.”

Kara  breathes out a laugh. “Also, if we go to bed now, then tomorrow will come faster.”

“Scientifically incorrect,” Lena murmurs, “but golly.”

“What?”

Lena snuggles into Kara’s embrace until all she can smell is Kara, and all she can feel is also Kara. She yawns again.

“Golly am I looking forward to tomorrow.”


	9. christmas is the time to say i love you (share the joys)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you squint, there'll be some AgentReign, simply cause I love them and they deserve the world...  
> Enjoy!

In retrospect, maybe Alex should have known better.

After all, there had been signs aplenty in the past couple of weeks. Supergirl taking longer for her tasks at work. Kara smiling at her phone during movie night, although she used to be the one who always insisted on the no-phones rule. Lena coming over to the loft unannounced one day, looking somewhat bummed when she found Alex there.

Just to name a few things that Alex had noticed. And who knew what else had been going on behind her back? Since her little sister had finally learned to keep a secret (and used that power for evil, evidently), there was no telling, really. Because, like, people didn't fall in love over night.

But Alex was getting ahead of herself. There was a certain order to events, and Alex should at least try to do this the right way. So she would have her story at the ready, if she were ever asked to recount it.

At her sister's wedding, for example. In case it came as unexpectedly as... But she was getting ahead of herself.

* * *

Of course, it had all went down during game night.

Because heaven forbid they could have one relaxed pre-Christmas evening without something big happening. (Alex supposed she should be glad there hadn't been a city-wide fire, _again_ , or a hostile alien attack or something of the sort. Then again, at least she would have known how to deal with that.)

So, game night. They'd been a small round that evening, just Kara, Lena, and Sam, plus Ruby as a honorary guest, all huddling together at Alex's place for once. Because it felt empty ever since Maggie had moved out, and also because Alex was planning on drinking plenty and Kara'd been hesitant to let her stay over lately (Alex should have _known_ ).

It was a quiet night, peaceful somehow. There hadn't been any snow yet, but the clouds were thick and promising, and there lay a certain expectancy in the air, as if the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

Well, something did happen. It wasn't snow though. It was the doorbell.

"You're late," Alex said into the entry phone, fully expecting a contrite giggle in reply. Kara was rarely on time, but she always, _always_ apologised profoundly when she arrived at last. As for Lena... Well, Alex hadn't even expected her to show up at all, in fact. Leading a company like L-Corp probably didn't allow for much free time, and Alex barely considered Lena to be one to drop it all just for something as trivial as game night.

She was wrong. On all accounts.

"Why, hello there!" Kara sang (yes, sang) in reply, and there was a chuckle in the background that Alex would in the course of the evening learn to recognise as Lena's. "And a good evening to you too. Hope you didn't get started without us?"

"Us?" Alex asked. Oh, blissful last moments of oblivion.

Kara's laugh was entirely unfamiliar, loud and carefree in a way Alex hadn't heard in years. "Oh, Lena and me of course," she said, "sorry for coming so late, we got... held up along the way."

There was that chuckle again, before Lena's voice was heard in the background: "Is she gonna let us in or not, it's freezing!"

Alex pressed the buzzer wordlessly, turning around with a slight frown.

"Us?" Ruby asked, catching her eyes from where she was stretched out on the couch. "Was that Kara?"

"Yep," Alex made, "Kara... and Lena."

Sam raised her eyebrows. "Did they come together?"

"Apparently?" Alex sighed. Something was off, something was not adding up, like a calculation gone awry, but she couldn't yet put her finger on the point where she went wrong. She shrugged the thought off.

"Why don't you ask them yourself?"

Because then there they were, Kara in one of her light jackets that did a great job at masking her alien heritage (not), Lena in a lush coat, wrapped up from head to toe.

"Hi!" Kara beamed. And while her sister was a smiling person in general, Alex had seldomly seen her that radiant. Even Lena's typical "Alex" was way less reserved than usual. Oh yes, something _was_ going on.

Sam noticed it too. She gave Alex a puzzled little side glance before she stood up to hug the newcomers, warm and long like only Sam could hug people. (And maybe something was going on there too, but Alex refused to think about it.)

"Kara," Sam smiled, "it's good to see you again. And Lena, I'm happy you could make it."

Lena ducked her head, because even she wasn't immune to the charm that was Samantha Arias. "Anything to spend time with my friends."

At which Kara snorted. Alex's frown deepened.

"Now that we're all here," she said, rather pointedly, "maybe we can get started on some games?"

"Please, before y'all start acting even weirder!" But even Ruby, her reproving (and very valid) exclamation be blessed, couldn't help glancing curiously at the blush that had appeared across Lena's cheeks.

* * *

"Neat sweater, by the way," remarked Sam halfway into Activity. It was a comment totally aimed at distracting Alex from the fact that Lena and Kara had just fleeced them in pantomime, and to Alex's shame it worked like a charm.

Because the thing was, she'd noticed the sweater too. It was a hideous thing, (clashing colours, frantic patterns, an honest-to-God _bell_ sewn to the front) and there was just no way that an item like that could be found in Lena Luthor's walk-in closet. She must have either bought it especially for this occasion, or...

Or there was a reason why it was slightly too big for her. Why Lena snuggled into it from time to time, inhaling its scent with a smile that was uncommonly soft. Why Alex had the feeling she'd seen this exact sweater before, the ugly pattern burned into her memory.

And why Kara was wearing a sweater with a suspiciously equally ugly print.

Alex started choking just when Lena's smile turned from surprised to smug. She knew what Lena would say, realised it in the very second Lena spoke the words, like she were reading her mind.

"Thank you, but it's actually Kara's."

"Is it now?" Sam smiled in a way that made it very obvious she'd figured out as much already. Ruby was smirking too. Only Alex had apparently been too focused on fucking Activity to notice it earlier.

"Oh?" She made somewhat strenuously, the feeling that _something was going on_ suddenly stronger than ever before. "How come?"

Lena gave her a patient smile, while Kara giggled. "Well, she came to pick me up in the _nicest_ dress you can possibly imagine, although I'd specifically told her to wear something casual. And like, I said to her 'you can't wear that, we'll all get depressed' because you know, it was just _that_ ho- pretty." Kara blushed. Alex was beginning to feel a little faint.

"O-kay?"

"Anyway, one thing led to another and long story short, I let her borrow a sweater," Kara finished hastily, then looked at Lena with what Alex called the un-frown (just like a normal frown, except it became exceedingly clear that Kara very much didn't mean it). " _Borrow_."

Lena blinked innocently. "Whatever you say, darling."

_Darling_?

"I'm never getting this sweater back, am I?" Kara huffed exaggeratedly, to which Lena only replied with a "nope", popping the p almost as hard as Kara usually did. Then she squeezed Kara's hand in reconciliation.

At which point Alex noticed they were holding hands.

* * *

It had all got sorted out quite quickly after that. Ruby wasn't surprised. Sam had always known, or at least strongly suspected it (which was mildly terrifying insofar that Alex was pretty sure she herself did a way worse job at hiding her feelings than Kara and Lena. On the other hand, maybe it also meant that the dinner invitation Sam had extended to her later that night was a _dinner invitation_ indeed.)

Ultimately, it turned out that the only one who'd been completely in the dark about matters was Alex. She, who'd always prided herself in having a good nose for all things Kara-related. She, who'd always assumed she had a decent gaydar.

She, who couldn't even complain about it, because the light in Kara's eyes whenever Lena smiled at her was so bright, it banished the dark thoughts right from Alex's mind.

So, yeah, in retrospect there had been signs aplenty. Supergirl working out between her assignments sometimes now. Kara buying a necklace that was so not her style, even the jeweller asked her multiple times if she was certain she wanted that one. Lena sitting on Kara's couch one day when Alex came by unannounced, painting her nails with Kara's favourite polish.

Just to name a few things Alex recalled now afterwards. And she really should have known.


	10. christmas magic's brought this tale (to a very happy ending)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I... barely know anything about reddit (tumblr girl through and through) so please let me know if there are some glaring inaccuracies.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy this, somewhat unusual, story format!

_r/relationship_advice – posted by u/_ _anonymous1000_ _–_ _1_ _3 hours ago_

**My (25f) crush and best friend (27f) chose a lesbian classic for movie night, how do I react?**

Disclaimer ahead: I haven’t used reddit before and am thus not very fluent in etiquette and formatting, but please bear with me because I am seriously overwhelmed by the current situation and would appreciate all forms of help. I’m also typing this in a hurry, because I’m supposed to be in the bathroom, so please excuse typos or inaccuracies. I’ll try my best. But now, without further ado, here goes:

I (25f) have been crushing on my best friend (27f) pretty much since the day we met. For context, that was two years ago, and while we started out on a business relationship, it evolved into a close friendship almost right away. This is mostly due to her, I must admit. She’s the most open-minded person I know and simply couldn’t be “scared away” by my bad reputation (which I inherited). Needless to say, I’m very grateful for her. She’s not only my best, but has also been my only friend for quite a while, before she introduced me to her inner circle. I unironically owe her my happiness (and my life, several times over, but that’s unrelated to this story).

I’d fallen in love before I realised what was happening. Usually, trust and affection come slowly to me, but her I loved almost right away. That’s simply who she is, a person one cannot help loving. Also, she’s very attractive, side note. I used to flirt with her sometimes, in the beginning, before I became aware of the depth of my feelings (this is awkward to talk about, btw, thank goodness for anonymity online), and back then, it seemed like she wasn’t all unresponsive to my advances. Then again, she isn’t very good at saying no to anyone, because of who she is as a person, so maybe she was only being polite? I’m not sure.

Anyway, she had a boyfriend then, and I had to come to terms with my feelings, so I sort of drew back a little. I’d been with women before, so that was never an issue, but I’m uncertain whether she has ever considered women. Her sister is gay, and she is very supportive of her, but we’ve never talked about how she feels. As far as I know, she’s only ever been with men though. Either way, I’m not in the business of making moves on taken people, so I mostly focused on fostering our friendship.

The thing is, as long as I can be close with her, I am sort of okay with being “just friends”. I mean, isn’t close friendship like a romantic relationship, just minus the romance? And minus the physical advantages (although she is a very cuddly person, so that’s nice). And, like, of course, I’d like to mean more to her. Of course I’d like to take care of her every day when she comes home, cook her dinner, listen to her worries, massage her neck, kiss her goodnight. Of course I’d like to be The One to her, just like she is The One to me. But considering that she’s probably straight and not interested in me in that way, I’m mostly okay with just being her best friend.

Or, I was mostly okay with it. But recently she’s… been acting differently towards me. She’s giving me these long glances when she thinks I don’t notice (I do). She’s going out of her way to make sure I’m fine and don’t work too much (it’s a tendency I have, especially pre-Christmas). She’s told me she’s been working on my Christmas gift almost all month (and I can’t for the hell of it guess what it could be). She’s even invited me for Christmas with her family (since I don’t celebrate with mine).

And now today, she chose the film Carol for movie night (movie night is a weekly thing we do, I should have mentioned that earlier, maybe), which is, as you might know, about a lesbian relationship. And I don’t know what to do.

She claims to have chosen the film because it was on a list of Christmas films (and I suppose it does have christmassy vibes), and because it “sounded fitting”. Sounded fitting?? What is that even supposed to mean? She doesn’t know I’m gay, so it can’t be that, unless she somehow figured out. Is _she_ gay and this is her way of telling me? And if so, how do I react? Is this her letting me know she’s interested in me, or am I reading too much into this? Did she even realise this was a lesbian film??

Anyway, she’s calling from the living room, so I need to go. I’ll try to take another bathroom break halfway into the movie, and I’d appreciate it A Lot if I had some reactions in by then, because I’m panicking a little here. Thank you all!

Tl;dr: my supposedly straight friend chose a lesbian film  for movie night , and I don’t  understand her intentions behind that .

(P.S. She and her boyfriend have broken up months ago. She’s currently single.)

* * *

_r/relationship_advice – posted by u/anonymous1000 – 11 hours ago_

**UPDATE - Mid-film update to this post  
**

First of all, thank you all so much for your quick replies, they’re really helpful. As you might have guessed, I managed to negotiate another bathroom break mid-film (though my friend is currently sulking on the couch, she didn’t want to let me go? :) ?) and am, once again, typing as fast as my fingers will allow.  Much has happened.

I’ve mentioned that my friend is a very cuddly person. Today was no difference – as soon as she’d pressed play on the film, she’d already enveloped me in one of her bone-crushing hugs (she’s very strong). Normally, I  let myself sink into these embraces, because she really is a phenomenal hugger, but today my speculations were so prevalent in my mind that I could hardly breathe when our bodies touched. 

( She noticed my reaction right away, and immediately asked if I’d rather not hug (to which I replied a vehement no), and this really isn’t very important to the story, but I wanted to let you know. )

As the film progressed (largely unregarded by me, I must admit), I noticed several things about her behaviour that seemed odd, though:

One, her heartbeat became considerably faster as soon as Carol and Therese had met on-screen and it became clear that their relationship would be the focus of the film. 

Two, she’s been side-eyeing me a lot more frequently than usual ( she tends to watch me watch films if she knows the plot already, but considering she  probably hasn’t seen Carol before, this seems out of character for her).

Three, and this is… I don’t even know how to feel about this, but… how do I formulate this best… When the sex scene was playing, I swear she looked at my cleavage and blushed. 

I’m sort of ecstatic (because those are hints, right?  I can’t be the only one to think that those are hints?) but also very very VERY worried that I’ve totally misinterpreted the entire situation.  Then again, all of your comments sound incredibly hopeful and affirming, so I guess I’m not entirely wrong in my assumptions? 

I  need to go back now (I’ve been here way too long already), but I will definitely keep you updated. It’s so heart-warming to see how invested all of you are!

@ everyone who told me to kiss her already:  if she keeps this up, I just might :)

* * *

_ r/relationship_advice – posted by u/ _ _ anonymous1000 _ _ –  _ _ 1 _ _ hour ago _

** UPDATE!  All’s well that ends well! **

Hey everyone, I am so sorry for the late update.  I ended up being… somewhat busy last night.

:) :) :)

So, long story short, we’re dating now. And yes, I did kiss her ( or she kissed me,  I can’t remember exactly .  We somehow kissed each other simultaneously ).

Long story slightly  less short , because I see you hungering for details in the  comments ( and my now-girlfriend said you deserved to know ) , here is how it went down:

W e didn’t even finish the film. We didn’t even  _ resume _ the film, after I returned from the bathroom.  Because when I did, giddy and ready to Do This,  she wasn’t even looking at me. No, she was  looking at her phone. 

Now, I’ve never seen a person look at their phone with an expression quite as shocked as hers. She was, I’m not kidding, completely frozen (and if you knew her, you’d know that doesn’t happen often ). 

So naturally I rush over to her, worried as can be, thinking something bad happened, a catastrophe or maybe an accident in her family. And as I kneel by her side, and she still hasn’t moved, I happen to see what she’s been reading on her phone screen. 

And it’s reddit. 

I’m not gonna lie, for a second I thought it was all over. I mean, she’d obviously recognised us in my post (so much for anonymity everyone, the internet is treacherous), and judging by her expression, well… I assumed the worst.

But then she turns around and she fixes me with this incredibly cute stern stare she has, and she goes: “[My full name]. H ave you browsed the relationship tag even once?”

A nd I shake my head, completely dumbfounded of course, because what does that have to do with anything. But apparently it  plays a crucial role , because  apparently you all know  my girlfriend. 

Her username is @supergirlssupercurls and she’s been posting the entire journey of our friendship/romance on this platform. Turns out she loves me  too .

: )

She’s also told me to end this with: and they lived happily ever after.

(Let’s hope we do).

  
  



	11. fate steps in and sees you through (when you wish upon a star)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for vague mention of past abuse, I am so sorry. Everything ends well, it's just in a memory, but I wanted to let you know.  
> Enjoy anyway!

Wishing upon a star absolutely worked, Kara knew as much for a fact.

It had always worked, whether she’d asked for good grades in highschool or a pretty but affordable flat when she moved to National City, and even the assistant’s job at CatCo had been given to her by the combined power of the universe and a fervent plea. And granted, she’d still had to study for the exams, renovate her new flat entirely, and convince Cat Grant of her skills with a heartfelt speech – but Kara wasn’t in the business of questioning the ways of stars. As long as she got what she wanted so badly, she was happy to put in the effort.

This time was no exception.

She had wished for a chance to make the pretty new manager a Christmas gift without it being weird, and the idea came to her in a dream. She had wished for a Secret Santa event at CatCo’s, and when James had asked her if she had ideas for the office Christmas party, she pitched her plan with the confidence of someone who had the will of the universe behind her. She had wished to draw her crush’s name from the Santa hat on December 1st, and when she didn’t get it at first try, she traded lots until she held the precious slip of paper in her hands.

Lena Luthor. Even her handwriting was beautiful.

The thing was, Kara didn’t usually fall for strangers. No, she was all in favour of getting to know people first, appreciating them, liking them, before you even thought of taking it to the next level. The two people Kara’d been with, so far, had both been her best friends first, and her lovers second. One thing leading to another, the physical dimension added only after there had been a solid emotional base. As a logical extension of the already existing bond, so to say.

And then, one November morning, Lena had strolled into the bullpen, head held high, with a confident pout on her cherry-red lips.

Suddenly, everything that had been clear was muddied, and everything that had seemed obscure made perfect sense. She felt like a different person altogether, and yet more like herself than ever before. All her life, she sensed, she had been searching for this, this place, this time, this person, and yet now that she had found her, for the first time she felt lost.

Simply put, Kara was a goner. She was also, unfortunately, cripplingly awkward, and would rather die than openly gift Lena with the necklace she’d bought on a whim, the delicate silver chain and simple heart pendant calling out to her during her Christmas shopping.

She didn’t regret her purchase once. Instead, as soon as she came home that day, she settled down to wish upon her favourite star. And started devising a plan for her secret confession.

* * *

Wishing upon a star was for losers, Lena knew that as well as anyone else.

She’d heard it all her life, whether it was from Lillian who caught her staring wistfully at the night sky or from her teachers at boarding school, and even Lex used to scoff when his little sister snuck out on the balcony before bed. And granted, Lena knew the universe probably couldn’t care less for her quiet pleas for peace, for relief, for a break from this horrible life she’d been cast into – but hope brought her strength, and strength eventually brought her freedom. As long as she got to keep these hard-won gifts, she was happy to believe in any higher power that had given them. And so, at twenty-three, Lena still wished for things to stay exactly the way they were every evening.

Until recently.

She’d wished for change when she moved to National City, hopeful to start a new life outside of the shadow her family threw on her, and people hadn’t blinked twice at her name. She’d wished for change when she hunted for managing positions, wielding her business degree like a weapon, the crimson lipstick like a shield, and she’d got a job at the highest ranking News outlet the city had to offer. And finally, she’d wished for change the day she first lay eyes on CatCo’s prettiest reporter, all smiles and sunshine in the bleak November grey. And she’d promptly drawn her name for Secret Santa.

Kara Danvers. Even her handwriting was sparkling.

The thing was, Lena didn’t usually fall for strangers. No, she was way too occupied with her own life, her own struggles, her own career, to even notice people who didn’t actively approach her first. The one person she’d been with, so far, had pursued her relentlessly, had made herself so visible that even Lena couldn’t look past her any more. One thing led to another, and in the end Andrea had broken her heart just like every other person Lena’s ever let in. Lena’d sworn not to meddle with love again, after that.

And then Kara had looked at her, from behind her desk in the far left corner of the bullpen, with her hair down in unruly curls, and a ready smile on her lips.

Suddenly, everything that had been hard in her softened, and everything that had seemed vulnerably tender swelled with strength. She felt like she was evolving into a different person, and yet it was only a new, a healed level of self. All her life, she sensed, she’d built endless walls, barbed wire fences, trenches upon trenches around her heart, yet now that she put them to the test, she found they were more prison than protection.

Long story short, she tore them down. She blazed through them with her newfound strength, and when she went to town to find a Santa gift for Kara, her eyes got caught on a delicate necklace, golden like Kara’s curls, with a heart pendant as corporeal as Kara made her feel.

She didn’t regret her purchase once. Instead, as soon as she came home that day, she settled down to wish upon her favourite star. And gathered her courage for an overt confession.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please don't kill me, but personally, I do love an open ending. I hope so do you.


	12. with those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings (when friends come to call)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry for the delay - to make up for it, this chapter is extra-long.  
> Thank you all so much for reading and for your lovely comments. You made this advent a very pleasant one. Love you all!  
> And now, one last time: enjoy!

“I was handling the situation.”

To anyone else, Lena’s voice might sound crisp as ever, but Kara’s super hearing picked up on the slight tremor in her words just like it picked up on her elevated heart rate. For all her bravado – and judging from the impressive array of weaponry strewn all over the plateau, there must have been _a lot_ of bravado involved in stalling the villains until Supergirl’s arrival – Lena’s nerves did seem to have taken quite a blow.

Not that Kara could blame them. After all, the aforementioned weaponry included, among others, enough explosives to bomb National City into ashes twice over, several tanks of what looked like poison gas, and was that a _nuke_ that the SWAT team was dissembling? Jeez. 

There was a zero point zero chance that Lena could have held her ground all alone, with only a gun and her trademark Luthor smirk to protect her. But Kara wasn’t going to tell her that. Not when Lena was cradling said gun a little too tight to appear fully at ease. Not when her smirk stretched a little too manically over her lips at this point. Not when it made Kara’s own legs shake just to think about the possibility of Lena hurt, Lena bleeding, Lena –

Kara swallowed, hard, banishing the unwelcome pictures to the back of her mind. Only then did she turn around to bombard Lena with her best Supergirl smile, the one that said nothing of the secret persona behind the hero, of the shaken best friend.

“Of course, Ms Luthor,” she said, lightly in way she barely felt. “In fact, I just flew by to wish you a merry Christmas. The villain-capturing happened almost by accident.”

Yes. Humour was the best way to fight horror scenarios. Humour, possibly in combination with the surprised laugh that bubbled out of Lena as if she couldn’t help it.

“Why thank you, Supergirl. How thoughtful. But please, call me Lena.”

Kara felt her grin grow more genuine by the second, more effortless with every glimmer of fear getting blotted out by mirth in Lena’s eyes. She allowed herself to relax a little. The danger was banned, and Lena was fine. Lena was laughing, and her effect remained unchanged, whether Kara now wore the cape or not.

“Lena,” she smiled, exaggerating a bow. “And, well, anything for my favourite high profile target.”

A trace of red appeared on Lena’s cheeks, delicate enough that it took supervision to make it out. Then she bit her lip.

“Tell me, Supergirl,” she said, smoothing down her hair with a gesture that seemed just a tad too nonchalant to be convincing, “how are you spending Christmas Day?”

Kara swallowed. “Uh… Celebrating, I guess?”

“Alone?”

Something was off about the way Lena examined Kara’s face, like a tracker searching for clues. Kara fought the impulse to look over at Alex, who was supervising the SWAT team a mere stone’s throw away.

“Hmm,” she made non-committally, hoping her tone wouldn’t give the lie away.

But Lena seemed to have lost interest already. She was inspecting her nails now, one by one, the blush still shining faintly on her cheeks.

“Not that I want to invade your privacy too much,” she said carefully, still refusing to look at Kara. “I just wondered if you had someone to be with, on this day, and if not…” – at this she lifted her gaze to meet Kara’s tentatively, almost shyly – “… if you would consider spending it with me.”

Kara’s heart skipped a beat. She thought of Alex and Eliza, accompanying her every Christmas Day since Kara’s landed in their back yard. She though of the decorated loft and the heap of presents waiting for her under the tree. She thought of the three-course meal they would serve later tonight, just the three of them, as it had always been. Then she looked at Lena, and she thought of the Luthor penthouse, cold and empty despite its spectacular view over National City, because even during the holidays, Lena would be alone.

Kara swallowed. Alex would be fine. Eliza would be fine. They would understand.

And so she nodded.

“I would be honoured,” she said, watching as Lena’s entire face lit up even though she tried to hide it, as the uncomfortable tension left her body, and her fingers stopped playing nervously with the ends of her coat. And suddenly nothing else mattered.

* * *

For someone who probably spent almost as much time at work as Kara did, Lena made surprisingly mean mince pies. It was a small miracle, but there were what felt like hundreds of them, piled on every surface the sleek penthouse kitchen had to offer, in mouth-watering displays of architectural skill. Kara’s eyes were bulging, but Lena only shrugged.

“Stress-baking,” she said, as if she hadn’t just opened the gates to paradise, “eat as many as you like, please.”

Kara let her eyes flutter close as the first taste hit her tongue, sweet with just the right measure of spice. She moaned. “You will regret this…”

The red crept into Lena’s cheeks like a thief. She tilted her head. “I doubt it.”

“No, for real.” Kara licked a smudge of powdered sugar off her thumb. “These are divine. I feel like I could die happy, knowing this was the last thing I’ve tasted on this earth.”

Lena’s blush intensified. She reached for a pie herself, fiddling a little with the edge. “Well, please don’t die anyway. It would make for a dreadful Christmas gift.”

“We can’t have that,” Kara grinned.

“No, indeed.”

There was that lip bite again, criminally effective at throwing Kara off her game. She swallowed, busying herself with another mince pie to keep from staring at Lena’s mouth.

“Divine,” she repeated, just to say _something_ , and Lena laughed, short but genuinely, before she leaned over Kara to reach for glasses.

“Red? I have whites, too. Or something else entirely?”

“Yes,” Kara said. Cause it was unfair, really, the way Lena was close enough that Kara could sense the warmth of her body, close enough that she could count the separate lashes around her eyes, close enough that she could feel rather than hear the vibrations of her low chuckle.

“Yes what exactly?”

Kara closed her eyes, forcing her mind to focus. She felt the role of Supergirl slip  further away from her  every time she looked at Lena , felt Kara Danvers push to the surface  with every glance Lena threw her way. T he cape  was no longer an entire persona but only a piece of fabric.  Her hands itched to adjust non-existent glasses. Every fibre of her being longed to embrace Lena, hold Lena, tell Lena – but what would she tell her? 

“Red sounds good,” she murmured, fighting the urge to duck her head like only Kara Danvers would.

L ena smirked. “How about this one – it’s firm but surprisingly sweet. Reminds me of someone.”

Kara couldn’t help it – she blushed. “Funny,” she said almost defiantly, as if  that could save her at this point, “I could say the same about you.”

“Is that so?” The look Lena shot her over the glasses was equally challenging and amused, and altogether way too breathtaking to still be fair. It was out of pure competitiveness that Kara inhaled anyway.

“Yup,” she made, taking one of the glasses Lena was offering to her, “you pretend to be all dry, but there’s definitely a sweet note underneath. Maybe even soft.”

Lena gasped. “You take that back!”

Kara almost giggled, but caught herself just in time and settled for a grin instead. “Not happening, Lena “Port” Luthor.”

“Potent,” Lena hummed, “I like it.”

“So do I,” Kara said. And finally, it was Lena’s turn to blush.

* * *

“I hope I’m not keeping you from something,” Lena said, much later, when the sun had set hours ago and the cool dark of the apartment enveloped them like a blanket. Kara’d eaten approximately twenty-two mince pies so far, and was going strong. Lena’d had one, but all the more wine. Not that it was showing in anything beyond a permanent and rather adorable shine on her cheeks.

“Hush,” Kara made. Although she couldn’t get drunk, the past couple of hours had lulled her into a sense of security that she had a hard time remembering to be false. “I’m happy to be here.”

Lena nodded, a small smile on her lips. She dragged a finger over the rim of her wine glass. “I wish I could make you a present though. Beyond the pies.”

“The pies are fine!” Kara sat up from where she was lunging a little too comfortably on the couch. “If anything, _I_ should get _you_ a gift. As a thank you for the invitation.”

“That was not what I meant to imply – “ Lena immediately started to protest, but Kara interrupted her with a touch to her knee.

“I know, I know. But it’s Christmas after all, and I want to get you something. Something nice.”

“You really don’t have to,” Lena said, but she was smiling the softest smile Kara’d ever seen her give anyone but, well, herself. Her heart skipped a beat.

“I want to,” she repeated. And then, because Kara wasn’t supposed to know Lena, wasn’t supposed to have gift ideas for someone whom she’d only met a handful of times, she added: “Is there anything specific you’d like?”

Lena’s smile widened into a grin.  S he leaned forward conspiratorially, motion ing for Kara to come closer, then cupped her cheek to bring her mouth to Kara’s ear.

“I’d like,” she whispered, her breath hot and heady with wine, “for you to surprise me.” 

A nd maybe it was her hand touching Kara’s face, or her lips hovering just above the sensitive spot below Kara’s ear. Maybe it was the challenge in her voice, or the gleam in her eyes when she moved back. Or maybe it was the product of all these factors, and mince pies, and blushes, and the spirit of Christmas around them. Whatever it was, it made Kara forget all about Supergirl.  And she leaned in.

She leaned in, Kara Danvers through and through, and she kissed her best friend and crush of two and a half years squarely on the lips. She kissed Lena, and Lena kissed her back, and for a moment or two, everything was perfect.

And then Lena climbed into Kara’s lap, her legs scraping over the stupid skirt and not-so-stupid cape, and  Kara realised that although she was kissing Lena,  _Lena_ was kissing Supergirl. 

And somehow, that made Kara Danvers unspeakably jealous.

She sort of drew back then, slunk away from Lena’s lips,  Lena’s touch, Lena’s body that was pressed into her like everything she’d ever dreamed of. 

“I’m sorry,” she murmured, not meeting Lena’s eyes, “I can’t…”

She expected Lena to be confused, disappointed, maybe even annoyed. After all, it had been Kara who had initiated the kiss, Kara who’d all but attacked Lena with it. She wouldn’t blame Lena for questioning her choices, judging her behaviour, possibly condemning it. Or, in the very best case, accepting it without further comments, and moving on. Pretending it had never happened.

She did not expect Lena to laugh. But laugh she did, full of mirth and unbridled joy, and a bubbling exaltation that Kara herself was far from feeling.

“Excuse you,” she said somehow affronted but mostly too startled to feel hurt, “Did I miss something or… ?”

Lena’s face softened. “Oh, Kara,” she said, and –

“What?!” Kara exclaimed, all but shooting off the couch until she was hovering, with Lena scrambling not to slip from her lap. “Wait, what did you just say?”

“Oh Kara,” Lena repeated, with a knowing smile and a gentle hand under Kara’s chin, “I am surprised it took you so long.”

“Took me so long?” Kara echoed. Her mind felt like it was signalling error, a string of white flags all flapping over and under each other.

“To kiss me – and to figure out that I recognised you a long time ago.”

“Reco– Huh? You… What? What are you saying?”

“I am saying,” Lena said, and although she was speaking very slowly, Kara had trouble keeping up, “That I know that you are Supergirl. Or well” – she looked at the emblem on Kara’s chest – “that you are Kara Danvers.”

“Huh,” Kara made, dumbfounded.

Lena chuckled. “Yes, well, it turns out that if there are two people in all of National City who look at me like I am worth more than my last name, like I am worth something at all, worth loving – these two people tend to be the same person. Especially if one of them is a secret superhero.”

“Huhhh,” Kara made, somewhat less dumbfounded. “So you are saying you were kissing Kara after all?”

A slight frown appeared between Lena’s eyebrows. “As far as I understood it, she – you – kissed me first. But I suppose that’s how you could say it, yes.”

“Hmm.” Kara grinned, a grin that was equal parts Kara Danvers and Supergirl. She felt carefree all of a sudden, light in a way that seemed at odds with the fact that she was literally bearing their combined weight in mid-air. “And would you do it again?”

Lena blushed, her thumb wandering slowly from Kara’s chin to her lower lip. “Can you now?”

“I can,” Kara replied confidently. And Lena kissed her, oh did she kiss her.

* * *

“I hope Alex will forgive me this little manoeuvre,” Lena murmured later, nuzzled comfortably against Kara’s chest. “But I thought this double-hiding had gone on for long enough now, and I finally wanted to do something about it.”

K ara chuckled and pressed a kiss to Lena’s dishevelled hair. “What kind of double-hiding are you talking about this time – the mutual pining kind or the superhero thing.”

“Both. For someone so bad at keeping secrets, you sure are stubborn about them.”

“Hey!” Kara protested, although Lena was perfectly right of course. “You could have said something too.”

Lena squinted up at Kara through her long lashes, a playful smirk on her lips. “I could have – but then you wouldn’t have had a Christmas gift.”

“Secret identity reveals count as gifts now?” Kara grinned. “Man, that will make it easy next year.”

“I asked for a surprise. It came as a surprise that you decided to kiss me _first_ , and talk about your alter ego _second_. So yes, you met your end of the deal.”

Kara hummed. “I see. And what about your gift to me?”

“I told you I knew about Supergirl, of course. That counts.”

“Does it though? Maybe you just wanted to kiss me again. I call ulterior motives.”

“I wanted to tell you earlier,” Lena protested, but her words were somewhat invalidated by the treacherous red creeping once again into her cheeks, “I actually wanted to tell you when I mentioned the topic gifts in the first place, but then you said you wanted to get me something and I got distracted by your stupid – “ She stopped abruptly, her blush intensifying.

“My stupid what?” 

Lena squirmed under Kara’s gaze, a silly smile spread all over her lovely features.  “ Your stupid face, all pretty and devoted,” she admitted finally, blushing furiously at this point.

Kara laughed.  How she loved making Lena Luthor blush. Maybe that was the best present of all. That she would get to do that every day now.

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr @fancyfanstuff :)


End file.
